Breakfast links: Up and down

And…

Free Tysons lunchtime shuttles haven’t taken off (Examiner) … The Purple Line is officially on the Montgomery County master plan (Post) … Taxi drivers are appealing to Congress about Fenty gutting the Taxicab Commission (Examiner) … Is our region getting the nickname “the DMV” (for the District, Maryland, and Virginia)? Please, no. (Post)

Power line problems

A power line fell on a Red Line train yesterday north of Silver Spring, trapping passengers for 2½ hours and blocking Red Line, MARC and Amtrak service. Nobody was injured but the storm also added 15,000 customers to Pepco’s platoon without power. (Post)

“Home Rule 2.0”?

Congressman Jose Serrano (D-NY) attached language to a spending bill in a budget markup to end Congress’s review of the DC budget, which would be a major step forward for home rule. (Post)

No bus here

UMD has gone ahead with its 4-week trial of closing Campus Drive to all vehicles, including buses, despite strong opposition from students and the community. But inadequate signage meant many students were still waiting at Stamp Student Union for a bus that would never arrive. (The Diamondback)

New ZCer already siding with feds

The Zoning Commission seems a bit skeptical of Big Bear’s desire to change its zoning to commercial, led primarily by federal reps Peter May and Peter Turnbull but also with the support of new member Greg Selfridge. This is exactly what I was worried about when Selfridge was nominated. (Housing Complex)

Watch a church evolve

The architects for St. Thomas’ Parish are chronicling their experiences in a blog, illuminating elements of the development process like DC’s public space regulations and how to design nice handrails. (Creating Sanctuary)

Who’s the boss? (in Rockville?)

Who is the chief executive of Rockville? The Mayor or the City Manager? And should Rockville switch to a “strong Mayor” system of government? (Rockville Central)

Money for electric cars, none for transit?

The Senate may pass some kind of energy bill, but it probably won’t do a thing for transit, but might put more money into electric and natural gas cars. (Streetsblog Capitol Hill)

Costco doesn’t need gas after all

After insisting for months it would pull out entirely from Wheaton if it couldn’t get its proposed gas station to bypass normal review processes, Costco will move forward with a store in Westfield Wheaton with or without the gas station. (Gazette)